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The owner of a small art gallery is busy with all aspects of the occasionally glamorous business. As a community advocate and seller of art, the owner spends her workday intimately involved in all aspects of this venture including the art itself, office duties, creating events and publishing professional materials to spotlight the gallery.

Create and Maintain Exhibitions

Gallery owners spend at least part of most days creating and maintaining the facility's exhibitions. This involves choosing particular works and creating insightful and engaging presentations of these items. The successful art gallery owner stays abreast of what is happening in the world of art in order to build a vision for his local community. Another main objective of the workday exhibition focus is to present the items in their best light for potential sale. To do this, they may contact past clients to let them know when new pieces arrive for a show. They may also plan the marketing of selected items to potential clients via advertising efforts.

Organize Events

Small art gallery owners organize tours of the gallery and art workshops to be held in the building. This includes phone work in which they invite persons from the community to view the gallery or participate in a work session involving art. These folks might be art teachers from universities and high schools or students of art or could be interested workers from local businesses. The owner should endeavor to present various views of her gallery tailored to the clientele she has invited for the event. Evening events might be set up to attract businesspeople and affluent folks who are likely to invest in supporting the arts in the community.

Manage Finances and Administrative Duties

There will be the normal office duties including administrative paperwork and financial accounting most workdays. The owner will need to keep meticulous records of acquisitions and sales, arrange for shipping, pay the utilities and keep the accounting books balanced. In a given day, they need to assess the ongoing profitability of the business as they examine the bottom line to assess how well your budget is working. Like any business owner, gallery owners need to work to keep costs in line while striving to operate as efficiently as possible.

Professional Writing

One of the most important aspects of the art gallery owner's business day is professional writing. As a supplier and presenter of art in the local community, they will need to write announcements introducing artists and works, critiques of artwork and petitions for artistic support in the community, along with documents to support and promote the gallery itself. These include publicity writings as well as applications for grants and other types of funding.

Managing Art Loans

Most gallery owners spend at least part of their day working with other owners and directors not just in their area but also in other parts of the country and possibly internationally. The main interactions involve the arrangement of loans or exchanges of artworks.

Interacting with Artists

Gallery owners also interact with artists on a regular basis to see their works to identify up-and-coming artists. Gallery owners need to negotiate prices to buy certain pieces, or speak with artists to arrange shows for that artist's works at the gallery. A small gallery owner might also be interested in renting the works of particular artists to be displayed.

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About the Author

Lisa Mooney has been a professional writer for more than 18 years. She has worked with various clients including many Fortune 500 companies such as Pinkerton Inc. She has written for many publications including Woman's World, Boy's Life and Dark Horizons. Mooney holds bachelor's degrees in both English and biology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

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Mooney, Lisa. "How Does an Art Gallery Owner Spend a Workday?" Small Business - Chron.com, http://smallbusiness.chron.com/art-gallery-owner-spend-workday-40753.html. Accessed 14 August 2018.

Mooney, Lisa. (n.d.). How Does an Art Gallery Owner Spend a Workday? Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/art-gallery-owner-spend-workday-40753.html